Russia in great Ukraine advance before Trump-Putin summit in Alaska
(MENAFN) Russia intensified its offensive in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, making its fastest territorial gains in more than a year, just days before US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska.
According to battlefield data analyzed by AFP from the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces captured or claimed 110 square kilometers of territory on August 12 alone — the largest single-day advance since May 2024. Typically, Moscow has required nearly a week to achieve such gains, though its momentum has been steadily increasing in recent weeks.
As fighting escalated, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held urgent talks with European leaders in a bid to ensure Kyiv’s interests are not sidelined in the upcoming US-Russia summit. Zelensky traveled to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz before joining an online meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and other EU and NATO leaders. The group later held a joint call with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
Russia’s foreign ministry dismissed the talks as “insignificant” and accused Ukraine and its allies of trying to sabotage peace efforts. Zelensky, who has not been invited to the Alaska summit, expressed concern that Kyiv could be pressured into concessions, warning that Russian troop movements point to preparations for further large-scale offensives.
With global attention fixed on the Alaska meeting, Moscow’s rapid gains on the battlefield underscored the high stakes facing Ukraine and its Western backers.
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